What Car? Green Awards 2010 - Introduction

This is a massively important time for 'green' cars. On this website you’ll have seen our reviews of four of the most important eco-friendly cars ever: the all-electric Nissan Leaf (to be built in Britain), the electric range-extending Vauxhall Ampera (which will hopefully be built in Britain), Toyota’s new Auris Hybrid (already being built in Britain) and the plug-in version of Britain’s favourite hybrid car, the Toyota Prius.

It’s clear that British car buyers have a passion for eco-friendly cars, and Britain has the skills to develop and build great green vehicles. That’s what makes the What Car? Green Awards so important – for car buyers and the car industry across the world.

It would be easy for us to reward the cars that simply offer the lowest CO2 figures, but there’s much more we take into consideration. Yes, CO2 is important, but so are other pollutants. Our winners score highly on other important buying considerations, too – from space and practicality to buying and running costs. They’re also great fun to drive and to be in.

The winner goes to show that the future’s not just green, it’s bright, too.